An eviction of Kalilu Diawara's imam and his household in the Catalan town of Salt, Spain, sparked a wave of protests and riots that lasted 2 days and ended with at least six arrests.
Imam did not pay the rent for 5 years, so he was yet removed from the occupied accommodation. Furthermore, neither he nor his household met the requirements to access social housing. The city council provided them with temporary accommodation.
The immigrant community spontaneously took to the streets, accusing authorities of housing discrimination. Tensions escalated as youths, mostly of North African origin, set fire on the streets and threw stones at the police. Local authorities tried to negociate with Muslim leaders to calm the situation, but the incidental revealed deeper problems with integration and immigration policy in Spain.
The events in Salt are not just a substance of single eviction, but part of a wider problem. The Muslim community, which is an expanding proportion of residents, faces difficulties in accessing housing, but is this only due to alleged discrimination? Many residents complain that immigrants do not conform to local standards and frequently occupy housing illegally, alternatively of seeking legal solutions.
The riots were not the first specified events in Spain. Radicalisation and deficiency of respect for public order have become a serious problem in many districts of cities with a large proportion of immigrants. In the meantime, local authorities, alternatively of making hard decisions, are succumbing to force from protesters, offering further privileges that frequently do not have indigenous citizens.
The emergence in the number of Muslims in Spain is not just a substance of demography but besides of cultural change, the effects of which are increasingly felt by local communities. In many cases, fresh arrivals do not show a desire for integration, but on the contrary, they make closed enclaves in which the principles of abroad European culture apply.
Instead of treating all protest of the Muslim community as a symptom of injustice, it is worth asking: does the current immigration and housing policy not lead to even greater divisions? Can Spain afford further concessions to the claimed groups, or should it begin to require the integration and respect of local rules by all residents, regardless of their origin?
